Court hands two-year suspended sentence over Rabat crash that killed passenger

The Court of Magistrates on Thursday imposed a two-year prison term, suspended for four years, after Karol Yiset Bello Marin admitted to causing the death of a passenger in a motorcycle crash in Rabat in August 2024.

Bello Marin, a thirty-two-year-old Colombian national residing in Malta, had pleaded guilty in June to negligent homicide of Cristi Robles and a series of motoring offences.

The charges related to a late-evening incident on 27 August 2024 in Triq tat-Tabija, Rabat, in which her friend, Cristi Alejandra Robles Valderrama, died after the Honda motorcycle they were riding was involved in a crash.

The court noted that the second, third, fourth and fifth charges, including driving without a licence, dangerous driving, and driving over the legal alcohol limit, were absorbed into the principal charge of negligent homicide.

A sixth charge concerned the use of the motorcycle without valid third-party insurance.

The accused had initially pleaded not guilty but later changed her plea, confirming that she wished the case to be heard summarily.

Testimony was heard from police officers, transport officials, technical experts and a probation officer. Reports presented in evidence showed that Bello Marin had suffered multiple injuries, including several fractures to her right leg, and was still undergoing physiotherapy.

The probation officer described her as having a clean criminal record, stable employment, and strong family and partner support.

The report stated that she expressed remorse, although she had not contacted the victim’s relatives.

Both the prosecution and defence had requested a suspended custodial sentence in view of her medical condition and positive background. The probation officer noted that community service was not feasible due to her limited mobility.

In its decision, the court imposed a two-year term of imprisonment, suspended for four years in terms of Article 28A of the Criminal Code.

Magistrate Vella cited the particular circumstances of the case and the accused’s clean conviction sheet as justification for the suspension. Bello Marin was warned of the consequences under Article 28B if she were to commit another imprisonable offence during the suspension period.

She was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for twenty-four months.

The court ordered her to pay €5,430.80 in expert expenses, covering medical, technical, pathology and scene-of-crime reports.